SmartFiler

A flexible file organizer that automatically sorts files into folders based on configurable rules. Define categories by file extension and filename patterns, then let SmartFiler move files into the right place.

Features

• Rule-based organization — Match files by extension, filename pattern, or both
• Config generator — Build config from an existing directory structure
• Interactive config editor — TUI app to create and edit categories
• Dry run mode — Preview changes before applying them
• Recursive support — Organize nested directories
• Conflict handling — Automatic renaming when destination files exist

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Create your config

Option A: Generate from an existing folder structure

python generate.py /path/to/your/organized/folder

Option B: Create and edit manually with the config editor

python config_editor.py
# Use specific config
python config_editor.py -c /path/to/my-config.json

# Or use 'o' key or button to browse for config files

3. Organize files

# Preview what would happen (dry run)
python file_organizer.py /path/to/messy/folder --dry-run

# Actually organize
python file_organizer.py /path/to/messy/folder

# Include subdirectories
python file_organizer.py /path/to/folder -r

Components

Script	Description
file_organizer.py	Moves files based on config rules
config_editor.py	Interactive TUI to manage categories
generate.py	Generates config from existing directory structure

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.config/file-organizer/config.json.

Category structure

Each category can include:

• Extensions — e.g. .png, .jpg, .pdf
• Patterns — fnmatch patterns, e.g. Screenshot*, IMG_*
• Match mode — extension, pattern, either, or both
• Destination — Target folder name (relative to source directory)

Global rules

• ignore_hidden — Skip files starting with .
• ignore_system — Skip Thumbs.db, Desktop.ini, .DS_Store
• create_subdirs_by_date — Create YYYY-MM subfolders in each destination

Usage examples

# Use a custom config file
python file_organizer.py ~/Downloads -c /path/to/config.json

# Dry run to see what would be moved
python file_organizer.py ~/Downloads -d

# Preview generated config without saving
python generate.py ~/Documents -p

Keyboard shortcuts (config editor)

Key	Action
q	Quit
s	Save
a	Add category
u	Update category
d	Delete category

License

GNU General Public License v3 — see LICENSE for details.